The Afterlife series Box Set (Books 1-3) (20 page)

“Tough night?”

I lifted my head. It was Mick. I smiled, happy to see him. He could always make me feel better after a night spend so close to human despair.

“It was okay. Nothing much. Just the same misery,” I said.

Mick sat next to me and looked at my plate. “You haven’t touched your food.”

Just as he said that a boy from the third year approached me. “Hey, are you that girl that fought that Se’irim and made her go straight to hell?”

I sighed and looked at Mick.

“Word gets around here fast,” he said. “People have been talking about what happened to Portia.”

I looked at the guy in front of me. Then I nodded. “Yes, I am. But she wasn’t an evil spirit to begin with.”

The boy’s eyes grew wide. “So you have actually stood face to face with a real Se’irim?”

“Yes. Twice actually,” I replied.

“That is so cool. What are they like?”

“Kind of creepy. Meeting them sort of makes your insides freeze.”

“I have heard that they suck all joy and love out of people. That they make you feel empty on the inside and filled with guilt. Is that true?”

“Yes … ” That was the way I had felt when I stood in front of Portia the second before Salathiel had opened the ground under her and she was sucked into the deep darkness. And also the time when Jason’s step-dad died and went into what looked like a giant volcano. Remembering all this made me uncomfortable. Mick saw it.

The boy continued, “So tell me more, what did they look like—”

“Listen up. Talking about it makes her uncomfortable. So save it,” Mick said. “We were talking privately here.”

The boy got up from the chair. “All right. All right. There is no reason to be unpleasant. I was just making conversation.”

“So were we,” said Mick.

 “Thanks,” I said when the boy was gone.

“No problem. But you might have to get used to this kind of attention. I think you are the first student ever to have fought a Se’irim or evil spirit. Most people never meet them. Those who do encounter one are often drawn by their lies and choose to follow them, but you managed to fight them off several times when they attacked your mind and that is pretty unique. That makes you kind of a celebrity around here.”

I couldn’t help myself. I had to laugh. “That is stupid,” I said. “I didn’t even do anything.”

Mick laughed too. Then he stood up and reached out his arm. I got up and grabbed it.

“Shall I escort you to your classroom?” he asked.

C
HAPTER 4

I
WAS PLEASED TO
get out of the castle after lunch. It had rained all morning but now the sky was clear and more rainbows than ever surrounded the white castle. The grass under me was still wet from the rain and the drops glittered in the sunbeams as I set off for my first Riding class.

I had seen the Pegasuses in the stables in my first year at The Academy when I volunteered to feed them, so I kind of knew my way around the stables already. Abhik looked frightened at the thought of having to ride. He had never been on the back of any animal in his life on earth and I could tell he was a little freaked out by the thought of doing it now.

Our riding instructor was a Cherokee man with long black hair and a buffalo skin over his shoulders. He waited for us outside the stables with his wolf dog at his heels, looking patiently at us.

When he spoke his voice was deep and calm. He told us his name was Adahy, which comes from an old Cherokee word that means “lives in the woods.” Native American Cherokee

“Is everybody here? Okay, let’s begin,” he said. “Follow me.”

Adahy strolled off and we followed. A few minutes later we found ourselves outside a paddock.

“Everyone stays behind the fence,” he said as he entered the paddock. Then he clapped his hands and whistled. “Come on, boys. Come on. There is nothing to be afraid of.”

In front of us was a herd of the most beautiful creatures I had ever seen. I had only seen them inside the stables. Out here in the open where they could stretch their wings, they seemed so magnificent and proud. They looked like big white horses but had giant wings flapping like eagles’ wings. One of them even came down from the air and landed right in front of Adahy. Most of them were the size of three horses.

Everyone stared at them in awe and some drew back slightly as Adahy coaxed the creatures to come closer to the fence.

“Pegasuses,” Adahy said while waving at them with a big smile. “Magnificent creatures, aren’t they?”

We all just stared at the huge animals in front of us. Their white coats glittered in the sunlight.

“You can come closer if you want to,” Adahy said, waving at us.

No one seemed to dare, so I did, since I knew them a little.

“A Pegasus is a very proud animal,” Adahy said. “And independent too. You can’t force him to do anything. If you want to ride on him,” he said and touched the one closest to him, “you have to convince him to let you. You have to win his trust. That goes with all the animals you will meet in Heaven. Some are more shy than others. Unicorns are almost impossible to come near. For all the animals,  if you are nice to them, they will be nice to you.”

Nigel’s waved his hand in the air.

“Yes, Nigel?”

“Do we have any unicorns here at The Academy?”

Adahy nodded. “We do have one, but no one has ever been able to come close to it.”

Nigel sighed, disappointed. “I always wanted to see a real unicorn,” he said.

“You might see him from time to time,” Adahy said. “He lives in the forest. Right in there.”

Adahy pointed at the big forest with the thick trunks behind us. None of us had ever entered it. I had flown over it a few times, but had never been able to see anything through the voluminous tree tops.

“Who wants to be the first?” Adahy asked.

Everyone else backed up. The Pegasuses fluttered around, flapping their huge feathered wings.

“I will,” I said and stepped forward. I had been looking forward to this ever since my first year in the school.

“Very well, then,” Adahy said.

“What do I do?”

“Come in here.”

I climbed the fence and went inside the paddock. Standing next to the giant Pegasus made my heart stop. When feeding them in the stables, I hadn’t entered their stalls. So I had never been this near to one. It appeared even bigger and it seemed almost impossible for a small person like me to be able to ride it.

“Kind of scary when you get up close, isn’t it?” asked Adahy with his wide smile.

I gulped and nodded.

Adahy stroked the Pegasus and it came closer. “His name is Yofiel, which means ‘the beauty of God.’ We call him Yofi for short.” Adahy said. “He
is
quite stunning, don’t you think?”

My mouth was still open in awe as I nodded. The rest of the students behind the fence seemed to be holding their breath.

“Now, try to touch him gently. Please remember to stay calm. No sudden moves or he will be scared away.”

“O ... okay … ,” I stuttered. I reached my hand to the big Pegasus.

“Look him in the eyes to let him know you are a friend,” Adahy instructed me carefully.

I did as I was told. I stared into the purple eyes of the Pegasus. His eyes started flickering and he seemed a bit nervous at first. Neither of us moved.

“Now try to give him these,” Adahy said as he gave me a bag filled with small berries. “They are blueberries. He loves them. And they are great for his coat as well, making it shiny. Put some in your hand and then reach out to him. Remember to keep your hand flat, so he won’t take a finger. You will grow a new one if he does, but it still can be unpleasant.”

Without taking my eyes off Yofi’s I poured some berries in my hand and reached to him.

“Remember to keep those fingers down,” Adahy said.

I stretched them out the best I could and lifted my hand high in the air. Nothing happened in the first couple of seconds but suddenly Yofi bowed his head and I felt the soft muzzle rubbing against the palm of my hand. When the berries were gone I felt his coarse tongue licking the remains off and it tickled so much I had to pull my hand away. That caused the Pegasus to pull back as well while he stared at me nervously. He neighed a couple of times before he balked. His big legs kicked in the air while his enormous body went backwards.

“No sudden moves!” yelled Adahy.

 Adahy laid the palm of his hand on the chest of the Pegasus and started chanting a song with his eyes closed. I drew backwards as I saw the Pegasus slowly calming down. His legs landed on the ground and he stopped flapping his wings. Then Adahy opened his eyes and looked at me.

“My old Cherokee songs always calm them down. I start singing to them when they are still foals.”

The Pegasus was now completely calm and Adahy stroke him gently on his soft muzzle. “Do you want to try again?” he asked.

I nodded, a little less eager than earlier.

“Go on. Pat his muzzle. It will be all right.”

I moved slowly toward the Pegasus and reached out my hand. I stroked his muzzle a couple of times and the Pegasus closed his eyes, looking like he enjoyed my touch.

“Are you ready to try to ride him?” Adahy asked.

I nodded again.

“Now, you can’t just jump on him from the air. That will scare him. He needs to know you are coming.”

“So what do I do?”

“You climb up. Right here by the wing. That way he will feel you all the way up and know what you are doing.”

“Okay.” I moved toward the wing and grabbed it with my hand. Then I started climbing. His skin trembled under my fingers when I grabbed onto his coat.

“It is because it tickles him,” Adahy called to me.

I moved on and finally reached the back of the tremendous animal. The view from up there was spectacular. All my classmates seemed so small and insignificant.

“Now go!” I heard Adahy exclaim.

The Pegasus spread out both of his mighty wings and started flapping them. In less than a second he soared into the air and went high above the ground. I had never gone that high above the castle before. And I had never flown this fast. The Pegasus flew so fast in circles over the castle and the paddock it made me dizzy.

Then I heard Adahy whistle loudly and Yofi started to descend toward the ground. We went so fast I felt like we would make a crash landing. But as he came closer, he slowed down quickly before landing elegantly on his hooves. Then I flew down to the ground while everybody from my class clapped.

“Very good, Meghan,” Adahy praised.

Encouraged by my success, the rest of the class hurried into the paddock and started working with their own Pegasuses.

I felt something nudge me on the back and turned to see Yofi. He had lowered his head and pushed me playfully with his muzzle.

“Now he is yours to ride for the rest of the time you are here at the school,” Adahy said.

I patted him gently while I saw Abhik getting into trouble trying to climb his. He had just grabbed on to the wing when the Pegasus balked.

I heard a voice coming from behind me. I turned and saw a bunch of third-year students. They were laughing at Abhik. I recognized one of them. He was the tallest and most muscular one, blond like Mick. His name was Adrian. I had found out that he was the one who told Portia about the mirror in the cellar during our first year. Several of us had gone through it and that was how I met Jason. Adrian had told Portia that he and his friends had gone through it a lot of times, bothering people by making messes in their houses and on their computers. I wondered if they still did that.

He laughed the hardest at Abhik’s expense, clapping his hands and pointing at him.

“Look at those kids,” he said and looked at his friends. Then they laughed again when Nigel slid slowly off his Pegasus and tried to grab the wing, but missed.

“If you are not riding today, you have nothing to do around here,” Adahy said to them.

“Sure, old timer.” Adrian then mumbled something that sounded racist to me. Fortunately Adahy didn’t seem to hear it. Or maybe he did, but he pretended not to hear.

It made Adrian’s friends laugh harder as they left. I had a bad feeling about him, just like the one I used to have with Portia.

C
HAPTER 5

A
BHIK AND
I
WERE
among the first to arrive at Hornam Hall for dinner. He was exhausted from trying to ride the Pegasus. I was tired too, but in a good way. I felt better than I had in months. For once I had a fun day and I hadn’t thought about Jason all day, until now.